NARROWSBURG -- Ryan and Marie Vaz's world was turned upside down when Sam, their one-and-a-half year-old black labrador/pitbull mix, ran off on February 8.

After 18 days in the wild -- and losing nearly half his body weight -- Sam returned to the Vaz family home in Narrowsburg on Friday night.

Finding his way back

Following the advice of Hound Hunters of NEPA, CARE (Catskill Animal Rescue Inc.) and Malinde Lohmann, a Lava local who is a liaison with Buddha Rescue, the Vazs set up a bowl of cooked bacon and Liquid Smoke with a wildlife camera trained on it -- at the location of a sighting.

Ryan, Marie and Laura Turley of Dogstar BK spent hours on Friday evening travelling to five locations between Bethel and Narrowsburg where sightings had been called in, cooking bacon and Liquid Smoke on a camping stove at each place.

About an hour and a half after returning home (around 10 p.m.), Ryan went to turn off a light near the front door where Marie placed Sam's bed, hoping the scent would lead him home.

As he approached the door he saw Sam's orange jacket (which he was wearing when he went missing) in the bed and realized Sam was under there.

Curled in a ball, quiet, shaking, with bloody wounds, the Vazs wrapped Sam up and took him to the 24-hour animal hospital in Middletown.

His injuries

Marie notes that Sam was 83 pounds at his last checkup. On Friday, he was 45 pounds. Marie said he has deep wounds most likely caused by being hit by a car and then skidding across the pavement.

Sam will need 24-hour monitoring for a few more days for his IV meds, nutrition and wound treatment.

An x-ray showed some foreign objects in Sam's abdomen, so the 24-hour monitoring is also needed to ensure his intestines aren't blocked.

On Sunday, Marie told the Democrat that yesterday Sam would be transferred to Pure Paws in midtown Manhattan where his adoptive siblings, Mama and Roxie, have received care for more than 10 years.

Community unity

Sam's “lost dog” poster was shared numerous times on social media and Marie said that every single business (she estimates more than a hundred between Monticello and Elk Mountain, PA) they visited put the poster somewhere prominent.

She added that people called with possible sightings and then would let them check for paw prints on their property, cook food, and put up cameras over multiple days and nights.

“Even at a place like Russell's Dairy Farm, where our doing so could attract dangerous wildlife to his livestock instead of a lost dog,” Marie added.

Also, a Cochecton homeowner allowed a trap to be set by Cochecton Dog Control Officer Tamara DePaolo in her driveway and then texted Marie over the course of the next two weeks to stay updated on the search for Sam elsewhere.

“Our neighbors consistently grilled bacon to form a perimeter around our area to attract him in. Many people, from Liberty to Narrowsburg, put out food in case Sam might be near their house. I suppose there are some fat cats in Sullivan County nowadays,” Marie jokes.

“We are ever so grateful for the outpouring of support from the Western Sullivan community.”